LOJZE LEBIČ

(born in 1934 in Prevalje, Carinthia) took his degree in archeology (1957) at the University of Ljubljana. At the same time he studied music at the Academy of Music, going in for conducting with Danilo Švara and composition with Marjan Kozina. He graduated in 1972. L. Lebič conducted the Students Choir Tone Tomšič and also, from 1962 to 1972, the Ljubljana RTV Chamber Choir. The high quality of these choirs was confirmed on several tours, when taking part in international festivals: Bidgoscz, Poland (1966); Flandrian festival, Belgium (1968); Ohrid Summer, Macedonia (1968); Jihlava, Czech Republic (1969); Bienale of Contemporary Music Zagreb, Croatia (1969); Dubrovnik Summer Plays, Croatia (1969); and making recordings for foreign producers and obtaining numerous awards. In 1967 L.Lebič was awarded the Prešeren Fund Prize, in 1972 the London BBC Plaque for the best performance of contemporary music at the Let the Peoples Sing Contest, and others.

He taught conducting at the Pedagogical Academy and, since 1986, L. Lebič has been a professor in theoretical subject in music at the Musicological Department of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Ljubljana.

As a composer he emerged from the group Pro Musica Viva and improved his knowledge by attending seminars in contemporary music in Darmstadt.
After an intense and critical confrontation with contemporary trends in composition L. Lebič formed his own mode of expression ranging between the impetuosity of sound and the restraint of meditation as well as between cosmopolitan modernism and his own sensitivity to the heritage of traditional cultures and civilizations.
The most notable among his compositions are the vocal and instrumental pieces The Burnt Grass, November Songs, the coral-instrumental-scenic Fauvel '86, Ajdna - the Music About Time, Myth and Apocrypha for Bassbaritone and Orchestra, his symphonic Sentences for two Pianos and Orchestra, Voices, Nicina, Queensland Music, Organ Simphony, Cantico I, Cantico II, Tangram for smaller Orchestra, the String Quartet, the Percussion Quartet, the Wind Quintet, the elekctroacoustic Atelier II, solo music, pieces for solo singing, choirs etc.

He is a member of the Society of Slovene Composers. From 1982 until Slovene Independence he was the Secretary of the Yugoslav Section of The International Organisation for contemporary Music, ISCM, which accepted Slovenia as an independent national Section at its general meeting in Warsaw in 1992.
He has sat on international juries (Concorso Internationale di Canto Corale Seghizzi 198l, Kompositions Wettbeverb Spittal an der Drau 1986) and participated in seminars (Compositional Seminar in Grožnjan 1988, The International Union of Congress nad Culture Centre, ICCA in Vancouver, Canada 1990).

His compositions have been performed at numerous festivals, such as the World Music Days of ISCM (Brussels 1981, Zurich 1991, Bucharest 1999, Yokohama 2001); the Music Biennials in Berlin and Zagreb; Musikprotokoll Graz; the Pan Music Festival Seul; the Warsaw Autumn; Trieste prima; Mittel Fest Čedad; Saint Denis, France; Danubiana Timisoara, Romania; Unisa Transnet Pretoria, South Africa; Golden Gate International Choral Festival, San Francisco, USA; The EBU Concerts of Jerusalem, Ljubljana and elsewhere.

Not only has Lebič worked with the talented artists of the Slovene Philharmonic and RTV Symphony Orchestras but also with Trio Lorenz, Marijana Lipovšek, ensemble Slavko Osterc, Vinko Globokar, Szigmond Szathmary, Ensemble musique vivante, Ensemble Intercontemporaine, The Queensland Symphony Orchetra, The Radio Orchestra of Israel, The Radio Orchestra of Basel, The Philharmonic Orchestra from Timisoara, The G.Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra from Bucharest, Ensemble Kreativ from Klagenfurt...
His works are to be found in the archives of many radio stations. His compositions are in the Catalogues of the following publishing houses: Ed.DSS; Gravis, Bad Schalbach; Peters and Deutcher Verlag für Musik, Leipzig; Breitkopf und Härtel, Wiesbaden; Earthsongs Oregon, USA.

Lojze Lebič has won the Prešeren Award for Composers three times (1967 for Conducting, 1970 and 1987 for Composition). In competitions held by the Yugoslav radio Station (JRT) he received first place for his compositons Korant (1970), Voices (1975), for his electroacoustic works Atelje II and Atelje III (1976) and also for his musical programmes, interpretations and musical plays. His symphonic work November Songs was chosen as one of the ten most successful works of the year at the Rostrum of Composers, IMC UNESCO, in Paris, 1985.

In 1994 Lebič was awarded the Prešeren prize for his work as a Composer. From 30th May 1991 until 6th June 1995 he was an assistant member of the Slovene Academy of Arts and Sciences (SAZU) and since that time he has been a regular member.